Finding her Flock OV
by simply.kaleidoscope
Summary: The visions came in bursts. Aya watches her future, and futures tied closely to her. As the drama unfolds, Aya finds who she really is and where she truly belongs. The OV stands for Original Version, which stands for crappy
1. Chapter 1

**Credit to the dude with the red bandana and the girl goes to *drum roll* Electroclasm and StalkerofFang. Thanks guys! You gave me characters!**

I struggled to keep my breathing even. _Don't give them what they want,_ I thought. Surely the treadmill would break after running for this long.

"Shouldn't it be breathing harder?" I heard a scientist mumble to his colleague. I smirked in satisfaction. Just as the corners of my mouth turned up, my body shuddered. _Not again_, I thought as I slipped away.

I was watching me, as weird as that sounds. Other-me was sitting on the edge of a meadow, leaning on a tree.

"Aya," a quiet voice called. Other-me looked up as a tall guy walked into the clearing. _Huh. So _that's _my name_. The guy had brown hair, with flecks of red.

"The others were looking for you," He continued, "Come on." He pulled Other-me up. I noticed a red bandana on his wrist. A girl with layered brown hair poked her head out.

"Come on you two," she exclaimed, sounding exasperated. Confused, I tried to step closer. _Crap_. Suddenly I was flying back to reality. A sharp pain in my ribs helped along my rude awakening.

"Get _up_," a scientist hissed. I struggled to my feet, only to be pushed down again. An Eraser dragged me to my cage. I had stopped resisting them a few years back. A broken arm really puts things into perspective. Well, not really. But it made me realize how _futile_ it all was.

Curling up in my dog cage, I thought about the vision. Most of my visions were of things that would happen to me later in the week, or like a news report or something along those lines. Never anything like _that_. I had been out of the School. And that guy? I'd never, ever seen him in my entire life. And he called me _Aya_. I have a name! The girl, too. I'm going to have friends in the future. The mere idea of having friends was astounding. Although my mind was darting from place to place, drowsiness overtook me, and I fell asleep.

Soft voices woke me up. I had trained myself to wake up at the slightest rustle. It made me a light sleeper, but I was less likely to be surprised this way.

"Get ready to run," a female voice whispered, "We're getting you out of here." My eyes widened and I peered out of my cage. Six people were walking around. They were too young to be scientists, so why weren't they in cages? They began letting some of us mutants out of our cages. The oldest looking girl came up to my cage.

"Who are you? Why are you doing this?" I asked quietly. She unlatched my cage.

"Kids don't belong in cages," she told me and continued louder, "Okay, everybody. Let's blow this joint."

I followed the people who released us like they were God or something. They murmured among themselves, and I could feel the tension in the air. Finally, a question burst out of me.

"Where are we?" I whispered.

"Sewer system, under a big city," said the girl who freed me, "On our way to fresh air and sunlight." I was getting out of here! I would find the guy and girl from my vision.

"But not just yet," hissed a coarse voice, "First we need to chat, Maximum. You and I. For old times' sake." Both the girl and I turned around, horrified. This was the guy who broke my arm. The girl handed me a mutant, and motioned for me to run. I'm ashamed to say I ran. Ran like a scared chicken. I didn't hesitate, I didn't help her fight. I pray to God that she wasn't killed that day. I would never forgive myself for that.

I met up with a dark-haired guy. Suddenly, my brain shorted out. I tried to shake my head, but nothing happened. I continued walking, but not by my own will. I turned towards the guy.

"I'm taking the mutants, and we're going," I said calmly, though inside I was screaming my head off. Why. Couldn't. I. Do. ANYTHING??? The dark-haired guy shook his head.

"You shouldn't-"

"Well, I am," I interrupted and waved to the mutants, "Come on guys. We're going." To my surprise they followed me. I stretched out my long wings, and took off. I flew nice and slow so the mutants could follow me.

After a while, I spotted a cave. Angling down, I landed in front of the cave and turned to face the mutants.

"We're staying here for the night," I announced, "Get some rest." Once I was sure all the mutants were asleep, I curled up in the far corner. Mid-flight, I had gotten control back.

"What _was _that?" I whispered to myself. My mind came up blank. I stretched out and inspected my feet. They were bloodied and scabbed. With a sigh I rubbed my right foot, feeling the scaly skin under my hands.

To put it bluntly, I have bird feet. Two toes forward, two toes back. It makes walking awful and running a nightmare.

I'm out.

Oh my God, I'm out of there. I'm out of the most horrible place in the world, or maybe even the universe. A twisted smile appeared on my face. I'm out and I'm never going back. I fell asleep laughing.


	2. Chapter 2

I woke as the sun peaked over a hill. Its light hit my eyes, and practically _forced_ me to get up. _Oh, crap, crap, CRAP!_ I majorly overslept! I leapt to my feet, expecting moans and whimpers from the mutants.

It was silent. Totally, deathly silent.

"Guys?" I whispered. My voice trembled. I ran to where the nearest mutant was sleeping. It was lying in the exact same place as before, and only one thing had changed.

It wasn't breathing. I shoved my fingers under its neck, and listened intently. Nothing. Absolutely nothing.

"Oh, please, no…" I murmured. I ran around the cave frantically, checking every single mutant. Not one was alive. I don't know when, but eventually I started sobbing. I stumbled to the edge of the cave.

"Why me?!" I screamed, "What did I _ever_ do to _anyone_?! Why them? Why, why, WHY?!?" Then I broke down. I collapsed and sobbed.

He found me in a fetal position. I probably made the most horrible first impression possible, but maybe not. It's up to you to judge that. Later, I was told that he heard a dying noise. That's kind of what I sound like when I'm crying, I guess. Anywho, back to then.

I don't know how long I cried for. It could've been hours, or days, or twenty seconds. I didn't notice the quiet flap of wings, or the soft landing of feet against stone. I didn't notice anything until he tapped my on the shoulder.

"Gah!" I gasped. I yanked my wings back against my back. Then I realized who he was. He was tall, blue-eyed, and had brown hair with red flecks. My eyes widened.

"You're…" I started, but then realized that my visions wouldn't make any sense to him at all.

"I'm Anthony," He frowned. I bit my lip. This was so weird. Maybe, if I explained…

"Would you believe it if I told you I could see the future?" I blurted out. In a second my hand was over my mouth. Great, now he'd think I was a freak.

"Maybe," he muttered, "But why would I believe you?" I noticed he had his right hand behind his back.

"Where's your red bandana?" I asked, "Isn't it on your wrist? Can I see it?" Anthony didn't look surprised; just put his hand at his side.

"Okay, maybe I believe you," he said, "Why were you crying?" Did Anthony care about _anything_ at all? I pointed into the cave, my finger shaking. He walked into the cave. I wasn't going back in there. That would suck. Understatement of the year much? I curled up outside the cave and waited for Anthony. He came out, completely calm.

"I understand why you were crying," he murmured. His voice was _still _rather lifeless. Something just snapped inside of me. There were tons of mutants in there! And they had _died. _And he still doesn't show any emotion? I stood up, fuming. My standing-up felt rather unimpressive, though, considering how much taller he was.

"Y-you don't have _feelings_," I hissed, "You're more like stone than a person! You-" In the middle of my tirade, Anthony calmly walked away. I could feel my jaw drop open in pure anger. I watched, my vision tinged in red, as he snapped open large brown wings. I guess I wasn't _too_ surprised about his wings. He didn't seem shocked or anything by _my _wings, so I assumed he wasn't completely human.

"Oh no you _don't_," I growled as Anthony flew off. Launching myself into the air, I flapped furiously to catch up with him.

I'm small, and aerodynamic, so I can fly pretty fast. Not amazingly fast, but fast enough. Definitely fast enough to catch up to some jerk I'm angry at.

I soared above him, and tucked in my wings. I landed on his back, on my feet. If you've ever held a bird, you know that their claws are not soft. Especially when they're digging their claws into your back. With a quiet cry of pain, Anthony tucked his wings in and rolled attempting to shake me off. I fell off, but snapped my wings open and soared back up to his level. I fired my fist towards his face.

He grabbed my fist, and reached out to push me away, but it back fired. I pulled him closer with my fist, and chomped down on his arm.

I grinned at him, and then faltered as his eyes turned a deep red. It's unnerving when your opponents' eyes change colors. So, I hesitated. He took his chance and took me down.

With a well positioned chop on my side, he had me crumple up into a ball. After I lost a lot of altitude, I remembered to flap. I stretched my wings out, but he dove into my left wing.

Sure, I was agile, quick, and aerodynamic, but he was older, stronger, and bigger. It really wasn't much of a match. My left wing shot in, and I fell towards the ground. Somehow, I remained calm as I fell to the earth.

This was it, huh? Beat before I could start living my life. Huh. I closed my eyes, not wishing to see my demise.


	3. Chapter 3

My eyes snapped open. I was lying on my side in a cold, damp place.

"Mmmm," I moaned and turned over. Wait, was I alive? What the heck was going on? I sat up and looked around. I was in the cave again, but all the mutants were gone. Except someone who was leaning over a small fire. I couldn't see their face because of the flickering light.

"Hello?" I whispered, "What's going on?" The person looked up and I realized it was Anthony. Well, _crap_. I shivered. I really didn't have any options, so I crawled a little closer to the fire. I glanced up at Anthony, to check his eyes, see if they had changed back or anything.

They were sometimes blue. Every once in a while, a flash of red would mix with the blue. Anthony would blink hard, and they would return to the blue color.

"What happened?" I choked out.

"You," he hesitated for a second, "Fell. And I caught you. I wouldn't move your wing for a while." I looked at him quizzically. Why wouldn't I move my wing? Testing his statement, I stretched out both of my wings.

A low hiss escaped through my teeth. It felt like tiny needles were being shoved through my wings. Millions upon millions of needles.

"Told you," he told me passively.

"What am I going to do?" I gasped through the pain, "I can't fly, how will I get food, or shelter, or…" I stopped. I was officially over.

"You're going to trust me," Anthony said softly. He held up some kind of unidentifiable meat. I debated in my mind what the correct thing to do was. My stomach was screaming at me, so I took the meat. I nibbled it and looked up at Anthony.

It was at that moment I truly felt like a child. I had attacked him, and he was taking care of _me_. I would never admit it aloud, but at thirteen, I'm just a little girl. I don't know what I want, and I don't know where I'm going. The only sure thing in my mind was finding the people from my vision. Anthony was checked off on my mental list. The girl with layered hair was next. But I couldn't find her until I could fly. I stared at my right wing, the one that wasn't broken.

I combed my fingers through the soft feathers. I loved my wings, despite everything. Yeah, yeah, if I didn't have wings, I wouldn't be in this mess, but they're pretty anyways. My wings are mostly gray, except for the tips. The tips are bright red.

So anywho, as I was messing with my feathers, one fell out. I watched the red feather float slowly to the ground, with, well, childlike fascination.

When it reached the ground, I picked it up, and braided it into my hair. The red feather swished satisfyingly in my short, blonde hair. Anthony watched me through this whole event. I smiled at him.

"Now what?" I asked. It felt so good to have someone else in charge. He looked at me.

"I don't know," He told me, and what seemed to be a smile playing on his lips, "_I'm_ not the physic." I stuck my tongue out at him.

"Well," I murmured, "All I know is that I need to find another girl. She has brown layered hair. And, you're staying with me." Then I realized how weird that sounded, and blushed. This guy was like two years older than I was! Speaking of which…

"How old are you?" I blurted out, "I don't know anything about you! You seem to know more about me than I know about you, so it's only fair if you tell me." A millisecond after the words came out, I realized what I said was stupid. What in this life was fair at _all_? I shoved the rest of the meat in my mouth to shut myself up.

"I'm sixteen, more or less," He said, to my surprise, "I have aerokinesis. That means I can control air currents."

"What about your eyes?" I interrupted, feeling more and more like a child by the second.

"They change color with my mood," he answered simply. Then Anthony turned away from me, signaling that the conversation was over. I stared at his back. My life felt like tangled strings. I know that synonym has been used too many times, but its how I felt. I inched closer to the fire, feeling the heat. I smiled slightly.

I inspected the flickering flames. They were so… mesmerizing. Suddenly, blackness tugged on me. Again? I never got visions this often! Since curiosity _did _kill the cat (or in this case, the mutant freak), I allowed the blackness to take over.

I was watching me land. Suddenly, other-me whipped my wings _in_, and dove towards a grove of trees. I watched as, at the last second, I snapped my feet out, and landed expertly.

"Show-off," someone muttered. Other-me looked down at a red-haired boy, probably a little younger than me.

"Just cause I have skills, doesn't mean I'm a show-off," boasted other-me. A little girl with strawberry-blonde hair popped up.

"He's right," she insisted, "You're a show-off." Finally, two people I recognized walked up.

"What do you think, Anthony?" The girl with layered hair asked, "Do you think she's showing off?"

"I'm not sure Norah," Anthony responded, "She could be." Other-me laughed and jumped out of the tree, wincing when she landed on her feet. I grinned at all of them. So, I _would _have a flock. Those were my last thoughts before I drifted out of the vision.


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey guys. I'm sorry that the chapters are so short. But because I'm cranking them out so quickly, I can't do any better, really. Thank you StalkerofFang! She's the **_**only one**_** reviewing. You know reviews make me happy!**

I opened my eyes.

"Her name's Norah," I gasped, "Norah. I can't forget that." Anthony looked at me like I was crazy.

"Who?" He asked.

"The girl," I waved my hands around, exasperated, "You know, the girl with brown, layered hair? From my vision!! Her name's Norah!"

"How do you know?" Anthony inquired.

"You called her Norah," I explained, "I just had another vision. And these two little kids were calling me a show-off, and you and Norah showed up and debated if I was showing off or not. Oh! There's gonna be _five_ people in our flock!" I glanced at Anthony's face. He seemed slightly pained like, _There's gonna be _five_ of us? _I laughed quietly, covering my mouth so Anthony wouldn't see my fit of giggles. He gave me a strange look anyways.

"Are these that reliable?" He asked. I thought about it for a second.

"Well," I admitted, "Before now, I've never had visions like this. They were all about stuff that would happen at the School. But those visions occurred without a fail, I'm sorry to say." Shuddering slightly, I thanked God I was finally out of that place. That awful, awful place. Speaking of which…

"How did you get out?" I wondered aloud.

"Out of what?" Anthony glanced at me.

"The School! You know," I muttered, "Where they made us like this." I fingered the feather in my hair.

"Oh," Anthony rubbed his red bandana, "I was helped. A scientist snuck me out. Your wing still hurt?" I looked up, shocked. Wow. That was kind of… nice. Asking if my wing was okay? Seemed out of character.

"Well, no," I informed him, "I think a bone is broken. I should be ready to go in a day or two or so. So we're stuck here for a while." _We._ It was so weird. I didn't have to worry that Anthony would leave me alone. Why would he stay here in the first place? Surely he wouldn't stay here because my _visions_ said he'd stay. Would he? I looked at Anthony, his blue eyes reflecting weirdly off the fire. He glanced up, and noticed me watching him.

"What?" He asked.

"Nothing," I shook my head, and curled up to fall asleep. When he turned away I whispered, "Absolutely nothing."

***

_I was strapped down to a table. A bunch of men were staring at me. With a start, I realized they were in white coats. I hissed angrily at them. A couple smirked at me._

_"You still think you're flock is coming to get you, don't you" They ridiculed me, "Well, they're not. They're the ones who turned you in, in the first place." Shock shook me to the core._

_"Liars," I snarled at them, "You pathetic liars." The white coats laughed._

_"They saved themselves and doomed you," one chuckled. I tried to shake my head, but couldn't, on account I was tied down._

_"Don't worry," another laughed, "It will _all _be over soon." They put something in my face. I felt… drowsy. Don't… let… go…_

***

"Wake up!" Someone was shaking my shoulder, "Wake up, now!" I opened my eyes groggily.

"Wha…?" I mumbled, "What's going on?"

"You were screaming," Anthony told me, "Really loud. You were going to give us away." I looked up at him. His face was perfectly calm. Only his eyes betrayed him. They were a dark color, maybe even black. I wondered what _that_ meant. Then something hit me like a wrecking ball.

"You don't know my name, do you?" I asked, bewildered, "I'm Aya." I liked how it sounded when I said my name. Aya. It just felt _so_ right.

"Nice," he said acidly, "Now will you _please_ tell me what you were screaming about?" I opened my mouth to tell him the truth, but stopped myself. Somehow, telling him felt wrong. It could have very possibly been a prediction, or just a dream.

"The School," I whispered, shaken, "I was dreaming about being back there." Anthony smiled ruefully at me.

"You're not going back," he promised, his eyes lightening back to blue. I forced a smile on my face. If that was a vision, I couldn't trust him at _all_. Or Norah, I realized, or the other two. The little girl and the boy with red hair.

"Aya," Anthony muttered, as I looked up, "You never told me your name until _now_. Why?"

"Because I spent the first thirteen years of my life without a name," I explained, "Until a vision that I had very recently, where a certain someone called me Aya."

"That's stupid," he told me. I detected a slightly fierce undertone, "You never gave yourself a name? Then you're _letting_ the white coats win. You're practically admitting you're an experiment, a guinea pig, a _thing._" My eyes widened. This was the longest speech I had ever heard Anthony give. I shrugged, and stared at the ashes where our fire had been. Anthony had let it die out in the night.

I stuck my finger in the ashes, and then pulled my finger out. I inspected the dust on my finger tip and yanked my sleeve up. On my arm, I wrote in my best handwriting, _Thing._ Then I drew up my other sleeve. On that arm, I wrote, _Aya_. Aya the Thing. That's me.

Anthony watched this with a slightly amused expression. I smirked at him.

"See?" I said, "I'm Aya the Thing." He said nothing. So, I had quiet Anthony back then. He must have said all the words possible for him in one day. A mangled smile appeared on my face as I turned and walked to the far corner of the cave.

Was that a dream, or a vision? I hoped that it was just a nightmare. But… then again, what if it wasn't? Then, I was never truly free. I would be going back, eventually. And I would be sent there by the very people I was supposed to trust.

Even if the nightmare was a vision, it's possible that the white coats were lying. They _were _deceitful, filthy jerks. So I only had three options.

Option 1: It was a dream.

Option 2: It was a vision, and my flock sent me there.

Option 3: It was a vision, and the white coats were lying.

I watched Anthony, my best friend, or worst enemy.


	5. Chapter 5

I woke up when the first bit of light hit the cave. It seemed I'd been sleeping a lot. I guess I kind of needed it. The white coats hadn't exactly given me my eight hours of sleep. More like four hours, on good nights.

Stretching out, I glanced at Anthony. He was still fast asleep. I pushed my left wing out cautiously, only to find out that it didn't hurt anymore.

"Yes!" I hissed joyfully under my breath. With a running leap, I threw myself out of the cave. The wind was surprisingly strong, and caught me. I tumbled back a little bit before I forced myself through the wind.

I don't know how long I spent diving and weaving through the air. After a while, though, it felt like the wind was working against me. It seemed to drag me back down, towards the cave.

I tumbled to the ground gracelessly, at the feet of Anthony. I remembered he told me he could control air currents.

"What was _that _for?" I demanded. He looked down, his face cool and impassive.

"Where are we going?" He asked. I frowned.

"I don't kn-" Then, my mouth stopped midway through forming the words. I was overcome with a feeling like I was trapped inside my body, and couldn't move. Just like when I'd taken the mutants.

"Follow me," I heard myself saying. I leapt into the air, and Anthony followed. My wings beat the air calmly and slowly. I felt like a prisoner beating on the bars of her cage.

"Help me!" I _wanted_ to scream. Nothing came out. Just calm wing beats. Up, down, up, down. Shouldn't Anthony notice the difference in me? I'm never this quiet! He should be freaking out by now. But then again, when did Anthony _ever_ freak out. After a while, I stopped struggling. I would remain hostage until it wore off. Whatever it was.

***

It must have been hours, while I waited patiently. Finally, I felt myself gain control. First my toes, then my fingers, and so on and so forth. Except, my mouth and wings never really came back. That is, until we landed.

"Where are we?" Anthony asked. I looked around. Apparently we were on the outskirts of a trailer park.

"We're about to find out," I grumbled under my breath. Following pure instinct, I strode into the trailer park.

"What are you looking for?" Anthony mumbled. I shrugged. He knew as well as I did. I glanced to my left, at garbage cans, and saw a flash of strawberry blonde hair. Wait, strawberry blonde? I ran up to the garbage, and peeked around to see…

A little girl sat in a pile of garbage, nibbling on some old bread. My breath froze in my chest. This was her, the little girl. The youngest of our flock. Before she noticed me, I wrapped my arms around her, and picked her up.

"MMMMMMMMM!" She screamed through my hand. She bit me, and kicked me, and scratched me. A couple times, I nearly let go. But, the vision remained strong in my head. I refused to give in. When Anthony saw me, he took the girl out of my grasp. I led him out of the trailer park.

"Shh," I told the little girl as soon as we were out of the trailer park, "Calm down." She glared at me, venom filling her eyes. It was surprisingly scary for a girl of probably only five years. Taking a deep breath, praying I wasn't wrong, I whipped my wings out.

Both Anthony and the girl stared at me. The girls' stare was a,_ "I'm not the only one?"_ kind of stare. Anthony's stare was like, _"You _idiot_! I should have never let the thirteen year old lead me! _I motioned for Anthony to let go, which he did in his shock.

"I'm Aya," I whispered to the girl, "You're like us, aren't you?" She nodded, shocked beyond words.

"M-my name is Dawn," she finally choked out, "I'm _just_ like you." She spread her own wings out. They were shockingly black. Imagine the darkest, most depressing black you can imagine, and then stick wings that color on a cute little girl. I smirked at Anthony in a told-you-so sort of way.

"How did you know?" He asked, still gazing at Dawn's wings.

"I didn't," I giggled, "I just had an instinct." _More_ than an instinct. Instincts don't _force_ you to do anything. But I kept this tiny detail to myself.

"You gonna take care of me?" Dawn asked, and then blabbered on, "I'm five years old. I was livin' by a trailer. They gave me food, and stuff. But they didn't know about the wings. Are we going now?" Anthony glared at me. So now I had a blabber mouth and an Anthony. It seemed like a pretty good balance to me.

"Yeah, we're going," I smiled. Now I'm not the youngest. I can take care of someone, rather than being took care of. I'm not kidding myself, I'm still only thirteen, but I felt a little more grown up.

"Back to the cave?" I asked Anthony, 'cause technically he should be in charge. The only reason anything I said had any weight was because I was a physic. He nodded, and threw himself into the air. Dawn and I followed.

I was thrilled we found Dawn, but a little disappointed. Norah was closer to my age. I wanted to find Norah next. Then we could find the red-head boy. I smiled in flight, thinking about my prospective friend.


	6. Chapter 6

"This is _it?_" Dawn gasped. I exchanged an edgy glance with Anthony.

"Yeah…" I muttered, "It's not much, but it's shelter." Dawn glared at me.

"Shouldn't you have a castle or something?" She demanded. I giggled. Our cave was quite a long shot from "castle".

"Now _why_," Anthony chuckled, "Would we have a _castle_?" Dawn stomped her foot.

"'Cause we're the bird people, that's why," she growled. It was kind of weird hearing a five year old growl. I bit my lip. Man, it was gonna be tough living with Dawn.

"Don't you need to nap, or something?" I asked, begging that she was tired. Dawn yawned.

"I guess," she sighed. I led Dawn to the back of the cave, where I usually slept. She lied down, and I sat there, until I was sure she was asleep.

"Jeez," I sighed as I walked back to Anthony. He glared at me and said absolutely nothing.

"That's mature," I told him as I sat down. Anthony tried to start a fire. I watched in amusement as he struggled, and failed.

"Having trouble, today, are we?" I teased. Anthony scowled.

"If you hadn't invited a _baby _into our little group, my nerves wouldn't be messed up," He snarled.

"Ooh," I laughed, "Is someone mad at a _five year old_? That's weird, Anthony."

"I'm not mad at _Dawn_," He hissed, "I'm mad at a certain someone who goes from completely silent, and not telling me where we're going, to all chatty. A certain someone, who I can't quite figure out, and is _much _weirder than me." Rather than acknowledging the truth in his statement, I went for teasing him.

"That's quite a speech, for someone who usually doesn't talk," I told him. Anthony grunted at me. We sat in silence for a few minutes.

"Are you really mad at me?" I couldn't bear the quiet anymore. He looked up from his fire attempt.

"A little," he admitted, "You're a strange one."

"Than-" I started to thank him sarcastically, when I looked out over the cave.

"Oh my God," I whispered, "What is _that?_" Anthony looked up at the black cloud of flying _somethings _coming straight towards us. Anthony looked up and his eyes narrowed.

"I'm guessing it has something to do with the school," he hissed.

"Dawn," I gasped. I ran to pick up Dawn, and Anthony followed me. I could feel the tension rolling off him.

"Come _on_," he growled, as I struggled to pick up Dawn. Suddenly, he swooped over, and picked up Dawn. I followed him blankly to the edge of the cave.

"Go," Anthony told me.

"What?" I felt like I was in a vacant area. I couldn't focus on anything.

"Go!" He repeated louder, and after freeing his hand, pushed me out. I snapped my wings open, and lifted into the air, staring at the dark cloud. They were closer, so I could see what the cloud was.

Wolf-like things with wings were flying at us. Hundreds of them. Hundreds upon hundreds. I let out a shriek that could be heard miles away.

"ERASERS!!" I screamed, "ANTHONY! WE HAVE TO GO _NOW!" _Even as he flew into the air, I knew it was too late. They were much too close. We were going to have to fight. When Anthony got up to my level, I looked sadly at him.

"We have to fight," my voice cracked, despite how hard I was trying to sound grown-up, "Wake up Dawn, have her hide in the cave." Anthony poked Dawn in the shoulder.

"Huh?" She rubbed sleep from her eyes, "What is it?"

"Go back to the cave, sweetie," I tried to sound calm, "Don't come out until we get you." She tried to protest.

"But-" she started.

"_Get back there now_," Anthony said in a low voice that was horribly fierce, "And _don't _come out until we get there." Dawn flew out of there in a hurry. Anthony looked from me to Dawn, then back to me again.

"I'm staying," I insisted, "I may be only thirteen, but I can take care of myself. You can't face them by yourself." He nodded curtly; we turned, and flew into the mass of enemies.

We tried. Oh God, we tried as hard as we could. I swear, it felt like I bit every single Eraser there. That's such a weird, sentence, huh? I guess, going into it, there was no way possible we could have won. That would have been absolutely impossible. Anthony was a good fighter. His eyes were such a deep red, I wondered if it was even _possible_ to be that angry. But anyway, we had to succumb eventually. Sure, we didn't give in easily. We took out quite a few of them.

But it wasn't enough.

It's never enough.

Towards the end of the battle, Anthony and I fought side by side. We made progress, for a little. Then, something hit me over the head.

"I'm so sorry," I whispered. Then I lost my grip on reality.


	7. Chapter 7

"That was fast. You got it back already?"

"Yeah, it managed to stay out all of two days."

"What about the other two?"

"The older one got out years ago… Well, you remember that. The younger one…" The voices faded out, as they walked away. I rolled over groaning, trying to stretch out again. My toes stuck through some bars, and my head cracked against the back of a, you guessed it, cage.

"Ow!" I yelped, and then bit my lip trying to keep in some of the worse words I learned at the School. Wait, the School? I tried to sit up and, yet again, wacked my head against the ceiling. Great. A _dog _cage. I stuck my face against the bars.

"I'm freaking back here??" I yelled, not really caring who heard me, "Can you guys let me stay out for a _week_?!"

"Shut up, Aya." My heart sunk.

"Anthony?" I whispered.

"No, it's the _Pope_," he responded sarcastically, "Who do you _think _it is?" I curled up, ducking my head.

"Please don't be mad at me," I whispered, trying to hold in the tears that threatened to overflow. Of _course_ I started crying. And as we have already discussed, when I cry, I sound like something dying. I couldn't cry _softly_, of course.

"You're crying again." I couldn't see Anthony, but I knew he'd be wearing a completely calm, emotionless face.

"No _duh_, I'm crying," I snapped, "I'm thirteen! I like to pretend I'm grown up, but I'm not! You _know_ I'm not! I'm just a kid! I don't have the answers, just 'cause I can see the future! I don't have _any _answers! Just leave me _alone_!" I knew how juvenile that all sounded, but at the moment, I didn't care. My life sucked, and I just wanted to wallow in self pity for a while. Of course, at the time I most wished for Anthony to stay quiet, he had to speak up. Stupid.

"Aya?" I ignored him.

"Aya, are you listening?" Stupid question, did I even have a choice?

"Well, if you are, um…" Huh, never heard him not know what to say. Usually the few times he talks he's very articulate.

"I honestly don't know what to say, except that you're lucky Dawn's asleep." Great, a lecture? _Just_ what I wanted.

"That's not what I meant. I know you're only thirteen, but I'm not used to being with people…"

"And _I _am?" I interrupted, "I have no _clue_ what I'm _doing_. I'm just as new to this as you are. That's the worst excuse I've ever heard."

"I'm sorry, okay? I don't know what you want me to say! You have a point! You're only thirteen! I _know_! You think I'm some all-knowing adult? Well I have something to say to _you_. I'm sixteen. I know just about as much as you do. _And_ you're throwing on any random misfit you can find!"

"I'm a misfit?" A soft, babyish voice broke in.

"No sweetie," I told Dawn, "You're not a misfit. Anthony just has issues."

"_I _have issues?" He sounded incredulous.

"Shut up," I snarled, "You know what? I led you to Dawn, not by choice, but because I had to. Not that I'm upset that she's here, but I was led to her. I had no choice in the matter; my body just decided I was flying to Dawn. So I'm not adding to our group because I want to but because I have to."

"Don't fight," Dawn begged.

"Don't worry Dawn," I comforted her, "I'm done as long as he is." I heard a quiet snort next to me.

"Come on, you," I heard an adult voice sneer so we all shut up. There was the sound of a cage nearby being unlocked. And the sound of boot against bone. There was a quiet "oomph" and a girl was shoved down in front of me. She was yanked back before I could really see her, but I had seen enough.

The girl had been tall and thin, like Anthony, Dawn, and I. That wouldn't been unusual save one detail. Her hair had been brown and layered.


	8. Chapter 8

"NORAH!" I screamed. I plastered myself against the front of the cage, curling my fingers around the bars.

"NORAH!" I repeated at an equally loud level. I continued shrieking wordlessly.

"What the heck?" The white coat who had locked Norah in the cage yelled over my screaming. He strode up to my cage, and kicked the front of my cage several times. I have to admit, he had good aim. Although the worst of his kicks were blocked by the cage's bars, I still got hit. His rather small foot managed to kick my face a couple times.

I stopped screeching, and crawled to the back of the cage. I gently poked my face in a couple places, wincing when I found where I had been kicked. Norah was here.

Oh my God, she was _here_. I sat down, and listened to the click of the white coats shoes as he walked away. As soon as the white coat was out of range Anthony, of course, started chastising me.

"What were you thinking?!" Anthony snarled, "Why would you just start screaming? Did you have a vision or something?" I ignored him.

"Norah?" I whispered, "Norah, I know you're there."

"How do you know my name?" Her voice was trembling, scared.

"Norah is _here_?" Anthony hissed quietly so Norah couldn't hear him.

"Norah," I called out, "I'm so glad I found you. The obnoxious jerk is Anthony, the cute little girl is Dawn, and I'm Aya."

"You still haven't answered my question," responded Norah.

"I will when we get out of here," I assured her.

"You forgot to describe yourself," Anthony pointed out. He told Norah, "Aya is the infantile one." I couldn't find it in myself to deny it.

"I'm tired," I announced, and curled up, hoping that my dreams would be happier.

***

"NO!" I shrieked, bolting up and hitting my head on the roof again. The sound of skull against dog cage sounded like a bullet.

"Aya?" Anthony sounded groggy, "What happened?" My breath came in gasps.

"Nightmare," I stuttered, "R-really bad nightmare." That wasn't a lie. It was the same nightmare as before. You know, the one where my flock turned me in to the white coats.

"Again?" He grumbled. I said nothing. My mind was still reeling with the sight of that dream.

"Whatever," he told me, "I'm going back to sleep." I nodded, although Anthony probably couldn't see me.

The dream had been exactly the same as before. And there still was that last nagging question. Was it a vision or just a dream? I was afraid to fall asleep again. The images from my nightmare were all too fresh. I settled in for yet another sleepless night.

**I KNOW it's really, really short. I have a confession… I have writers block. I have NO clue how they're going to get out of the School… Help? Please?**


	9. Chapter 9

The night wasn't quite as sleepless as I had imagined. I had yet anothervision. My hopelessness slipped away after this vision because… well, you'll see.

***

_"Again!" Other Me shouted. I couldn't help but roll my eyes at my childlike behavior. _

_"Why Aya?" Norah rubbed her temples, "You're wearing me out. What if we were attacked right now? I'd have no energy." But, Norah smiled at Other Me anyways._

_"Fine," she agreed, "But this is the last time." Both Other Me and I watched in amazement as Norah seemed to shimmer for a second, and another her appeared a foot away._

_"Happy?" The both asked._

_"Not quite!" Laughed Other Me, "What about the other power? That's my favorite. You _know_ it's saved our butts more than once." Norah I and Norah II rolled their eyes. All of a sudden, both Norahs were gone._ Maybe she can go invisible? _I wondered. Suddenly, Norah dropped down on Other Me, causing me- er- her to scream. Dawn meandered up._

_"I wish _I _could freeze time," she complained. _

_"Dawn," giggled Other Me, "You with _one _power is _enough _of a handful. Let's leave the time freezing to Norah." Norah nodded, then burst out into laughter with Other Me._

***

I pounded on the side of my cage.

"Anthony!" I whispered, "Anthony, wake up!" I heard grumbling again.

"Stop waking me up in the middle of the night, Aya," he mumbled.

"But it's important this time!" I exclaimed, and then remembered to lower my voice. I told him in an undertone, "I know how we can get out of here."

"How?" Anthony could barely contain the excitement in his voice. I wondered what color his eyes were.

"Norah," I whispered even quieter. I could here the white coats shoes clicking louder and louder, closer and closer. I continued before I would have to shut up, "I'll tell you later."

There were a couple of white coats surrounded by like five Erasers. What did they think? That we were going to try and beat up the white coats and escap… _oh_. Good planning on their part.

"These three," muttered a white coat to the Erasers, while pointing a toe at Anthony, Dawn, and I. My cage door swung open, and I was roughly dragged out of it. The Eraser held my arms behind my back, and lifted me off the ground. It wasn't that impressive, if you saw how short I was (and still am). Of course, with my obvious stupidity, I decided to fight against the Eraser.

"Let go of me!" I hissed, and swung my leg into his thigh. He yelped, but tightened his grip. I started screaming Bloody Murder, just to annoy the crap out of everyone. The Eraser clapped his hand over my mouth. Big mistake.

I chomped down into his fur. He tasted like, well, musty fur. The Eraser yelped another time, and swung his hand away from my mouth. I squirmed and tried to break his grip on me.

"Do _something_!" A white coat yelled.

"I'm doing my best!" The Eraser growled back. Another white coat ran off, and returned with one of those mask things attached to a tank. My eyes widened, and I tried to get away even more. It took two Erasers, but they got the mask on me. I tried to hold my breath, but let's face it. That _never_ works. The last thing I saw before I passed out was Anthony's expressionless look and Dawn's excited one.

***

"Is she awake _now_?"

"Calm down, Dawn. She'll wake up when she wakes up."

"I'm awake," I announced, and tried to sit up. I felt lightheaded and started to fall again. Anthony helped me sit and rolled his eyes.

"_That_ was intelligent," he told me.

"What?" I was truly bewildered.

"If you had just been a 'good girl' and went along with them, they wouldn't have put you under." I looked straight into Anthony's eyes and we sat in silence for a second. Then the room was filled with our hysterical laughter.

**I'm over my writer's block! Technically, all I had to do was think for five minutes… heh heh. Oops. PLEASE review! It makes me happy, and gives me inspiration!!!!! **


	10. Chapter 10

I wiped a tear out of my eye. I hadn't laughed that hard in… ever, really. I grinned at Anthony, who smiled back. I kept the smile on my face, but inside I jumped with surprise. What happened to the silent, emotionless Anthony I knew?

"Now what?" I asked.

"Well, you completely missed testing," he told me, shaking his head in mock disappointment, "And then they put us in this room." I looked around, seeing my surroundings for the first time.

It was a small room, with probably only enough room for four avian-Americans. The ceiling was low, and the walls were so close, I felt claustrophobic. Everything was pure white. Not a spec of color in the entire room. Dawn clambered onto my lap.

"Oof," I muttered and turned to Anthony.

"What?" He asked.

"I'm going to tell you how we're getting out of here," I whispered in his ear. Dawn leaned in close and listened to. I told them my plan under my breath. No human, or mutant for that matter, could hear us without practically sitting on us. Dawn grinned at me, and tugged on my short hair.

"So we're leaving?" She bounced on my lap.

"Yes." _Ow._ "Keep your voice down." Dawn pouted for a second, then shrugged, and stopped bouncing. She stretched and yawned. Curling up, she leaned into me, and I reflexively wrapped my arms around her. In a few minutes she was snoring.

"Is it normal for a five year old to sleep this much?" I asked Anthony after a couple minutes of quiet.

"I don't know," he informed me, "But she didn't sleep at _all _last night. Dawn was scared to death."

"Oh," I whispered. I watched him trace patterns on the ground for a few minutes. Suddenly, before I could think better of it, one of my hands shot out and grabbed Anthony's wrist. He looked up at me with a slightly bewildered look.

"Can I help you?" He asked me.

"Where did you get that?" I asked, indicating the bandana on his wrist. He frowned at me. I expected silence, or for him to rip his wrist away. That would be typical.

"It was a gift." Anthony's voice was so quiet, I wasn't sure I was hearing him correctly.

"Before I left, a kinder scientist gave this to me. He's gone now. He was gone by the day after he gave this to me. Can you let go of my wrist?" Slightly shocked, I ripped my hand away. Anthony smiled sadly at me, and I inspected his eyes. They were blue, but not the same blue as his "calm" blue. His "calm" blue was light. This blue was deep, dark, navy blue. The kind of blue paired with depression and the depths of the ocean.

"I'm so sorry," I whispered as I wrapped my arm around Dawn again. She snored on, undisturbed.

"How did you get out?" He asked, not taking his eyes off his bandana.

"I had help," I muttered, "Other bird people like us, helped me out." He nodded slowly. I opened my mouth to ask him 'Who are you and what have you done with Anthony?". I was interrupted by the sound of struggles in the hallway.

"Let me _go_, you morons!" This was followed by a hawk-like shriek. Anthony and I jumped, and Dawn rubbed her eyes.

Norah was flung into the room with us, practically on our laps.

"Hey guys," she smiled shyly, "What's up?"

***

"Hi Norah…" I pulled Dawn back up as she slid off my lap. We needed as much room as possible. Anthony flattened himself against the farthest corner. Dawn curled up farther into my lap, hiding from Norah. I probably would have done the same thing at her age.

"So. Anyone know what's going on?" Norah sat cross-legged across from me.

"Nope," I shrugged, "Maybe this is a test to see who snaps first. My money's on Anthony." We all looked at him, who looked less than thrilled (to say the least) to be in here.

"Hey Norah?" I asked.

"Wha?"

"I've got this _brilliant _idea to get out of here. But I need your help." She looked at me suspiciously. I leaned in and whispered my plan in her ear. The corners of her mouth slowly pulled up, until she had a full-out grin.

"So when we're in our cages…?" I nodded at her.

"I have one question though," Norah told me, "How did you know about all this?"

"I'd prefer not to say." I barely was able to keep the smile off my face. I enjoyed this new, mysterious me. "I promise, though, as soon as we get out of here, I'll tell you." Norah frowned, not completely satisfied. Dawn finally opened her big mouth.

"I'm Dawn," she giggled, "You're not the _only_ special one. I've got special powers too!" She reached her tiny hand towards Anthony. I started to stop her, Anthony didn't like being touched. But the second her minute hand touched Anthony, he froze. I couldn't even see his chest rising and falling. Was he dead? I leapt towards him, and put my hand under his chin, checking for a pulse. For a second… nothing.

`Then I felt a beat under my fingers, and the breath I didn't know I was holding was released. Anthony stared at Dawn in complete horror.

"I can't hold it very long," Dawn said forlornly. Realization slowly dawned on me.

"S-she, wha…" I stuttered.

"Dawn," Anthony gasped, "You _froze_ me. How…?" Dawn's face exploded into a happy, five year old grin.

"I _told_ you I was special too," she laughed, "Norah can freeze time and make copies, Aya can see the future, and I can freeze people!" She patted Anthony's hand.

"Don't worry," Dawn said kindly, "I'm sure you'll get a power too." His eyes narrowed.

"I _do _have a power," he informed us all. A windstorm kicked up above us.

"Stop it Anthony." I whacked his arm. He lifted an eyebrow at me, and the wind suddenly rushed at _me_. I rolled backwards into the wall. Just as I was about to launch myself at Anthony, Norah scooted between us.

"Okay, can we _not _fight?" She asked, "There's not a lot of room, and Dawn and I don't want to get beat up too." I smirked at Anthony, and the wind hit Norah next.

**That's longer than usual… **** I originally planned to stop when Norah gets thrown in, but I decided to make a longer chapter. You want to know why it's longer? It's 'cause this chapter is special! You know **_**why**_** this chapter is special? Double digits!!!! And you know what would make me happy? Double digit reviews!!!! Please? I'm not one of those people who won't post unless I have 'X' amount of reviews, but it inspires me to write faster. I really just want to know how I'm doing. Does it suck? Is it actually, mildly okay? Pleeeeeeeeeeease review!!!!**


	11. Chapter 11

After the laughter finally died down, Norah gave me a strange look.

"What?" I asked.

"Something Dawn said…" she muttered, "You can see the future?" I scowled at Dawn.

"It was _supposed_ to be a secret." Dawn shrugged, unashamed.

"That's cool!" Norah exclaimed, "How does it work? Can you see us getting out of here?" I frowned.

"I'm not really sure how it works," I admitted, "I just get random visions… So, no. I haven't seen our escape. Nervous?" She shrugged.

"A little."

"Well, don't worry," I assured her, "We're getting out of here. I know that for sure." Silence fell over the room. We were waiting. Waiting for the white coats. They didn't disappoint us. Sooner or later, the door swung open. A couple Erasers grabbed each person, until my two Erasers walked up to me. I inspected them calmly and coolly. Trying to imitate Anthony's expressions was getting easier. Even if I was boiling up on the inside, they wouldn't know that.

"Are you going to pick me up?" I asked. They exchanged a glance like, _What happened to _her_? _ I stood up.

"I could walk if it's easier," I suggested, "Or would you _like_ to carry me?" One picked me up and I smiled pleasantly.

"And how are _you_ today?" The Eraser carried me like I was a dead puppy back to my cage. Just before we got to the cage, I tapped my lips twice. She grinned and suddenly, the _Erasers_ were in the cages.

"Let's _go!_" I hissed, and we took off running. Of course it wasn't that easy. We had no clue how to get out.

"This is where it would be good if you could control your visions," Norah told me.

"I'll try," I whispered, "Cover me." I closed my eyes tightly. I vaguely heard footsteps and shouts. But, I wasn't thinking about that. I was focusing on blackness and getting out of here. I felt lightheaded, and slumped to the ground.

_Other-Me jumped to her feet. _

_"Follow me!" She yelled, and took off running. I memorized her route, nodding to myself. Now to get out of the vision. If I disturbed the vision, that usually worked. I flung myself at Other-Me._

I leapt to my feet.

"Follow me!" I yelled, and felt a thrill of my vision being fulfilled. I ran as fast as I could, glancing over my shoulder every once in a while to make sure my flock was with me. They were, every time. I reached the doors and burst out. I jumped into the air, and snapped my wings out. As I lifted into the air, I laughed yet again. We had just walked out their front doors.

"They've got guns!" Anthony yelled, "Get _DOWN!_"

I don't remember screaming. I don't remember hearing Dawn scream back. I honestly can't recall watching her fall. I can't recollect turning around, catching her, and trying to catch up with everyone. All I remember is the pain. The red-hot searing pain of being shot.

I blurrily remember continuing to fly, not sure why I was carrying a sobbing child. I recall following Anthony, and finally landing in a grove of trees. Then I blacked out. Again.

***

"WAKE UP!" Norah screamed in my ear, followed by a hawk-like shriek.

"What was that?" I muttered, rolling over.

"Me screaming like a hawk." She rejoiced, "You're awake!" I groaned.

"You got shot," I was informed, "In the foot. Your feet are _really, really _weird."

"Nice to see you too, Norah," I mumbled. I looked at my foot, which was wrapped in a t-shirt.

"Anthony had an extra t-shirt," she explained, "Where are we going next, oh great see-er of the future?" I shrugged, feeling drained. Dawn walked up, quiet for the first time. Her big hazel eyes stared at me.

"You okay sweetie?" I asked. She burst into tears.

"I'm s-s-so sorry!" Dawn blubbered, "I j-just couldn't f-fly anymo-more. T-thank y-you for catching me!" She buried herself into me and sobbed. I shot Norah a _What-the-heck???_ look and she mouthed, _You caught her. She fell._

"It's a-all my fault you're hurt!" Dawn wailed.

"It's not your fault." I tried to soothe her, "Who told you that?"

"Nobody," she sniffed, "But Anthony imploded…"

"Imploded? I think you mean _implied_." Norah and I tried to control our snorts of laughter. Dawn nodded.

"Anthony implied it. He said, 'Why d-did you stop flying? What were you thinking?'" I frowned. She was only five years old. He could yell at me if I did that, but it was probably some freak of nature thing that she couldn't do anything about. Maybe her power backfired.

"Tell Anthony to get his butt over here," I instructed Dawn. She ran off, wiping a tear from her eye. I surveyed our camp. It was basically a burnt out fire under the cover of trees. Where were we?

"So you're awake," Anthony observed as I walked up.

"Yeah. I need to stop passing out, huh?" He laughed once. It was short and tense.

"Why did you imply that it was Dawn's fault that I was shot?" I hissed. That's me, always subtle.

"Because it _was_," he hissed in return. We actually remembered to keep our voices down. I got to my feet – well, foot – and leaned on a tree for support. I narrowed my eyes.

"It was not her fault! If she hadn't stopped flapping, maybe one of us would have gotten shot in the heart. Would you prefer _that_?" I demanded angrily.

"Now _why_ would any of us gotten hurt if we had flown away quicker?" he asked. I threw up my arms.

"I don't know!" I yelled, "I only know what happens!" I noticed Norah inching away out of the corner of my eye. Anthony glared at me. If looks could kill…

"She's five years old for Christ's sake!" I growled, "It's not her fault! Her power may have gone wrong; she may have even been hit with a tranquillizer gun! But _no, _the _five year old _was _trying _to get me shot!" I was fuming. Anthony regarded me like I was a bug.

"I was concerned about you. Next time I won't make that mistake," he said coldly. I shrieked in disbelief.

"I HATE you sometimes, Anthony!" I exclaimed. It just burst out. Dang, I was getting more and more childish. He didn't even turn. Anthony continued walking. I turned to Norah, who was crouched under a tree.

"You okay?" I asked.

"I don't need the thirteen year old asking me if I'm alright," she scoffed, then thought about it for a second, "I don't know. That was kind of freaky."

"How old are you anyways?" I wondered aloud as I slumped down.

"Fourteen."

"Can you go make sure Anthony's okay? He's not going to want to talk to me," I sighed. She stood up, and followed Anthony's path.

"Aya?" Dawn's nervous voice cut through the quiet.

"Come here, sweetie," I called to her, "Everything's okay." She sat on my lap, and I played with her hair for a little.

"Aya?"

"Mmm?"

"You and Anthony shouldn't fight," she said in a soft voice, "It's bad and scary. You and Anthony take care of us."

"But Norah's older," I pointed out. She looked at me with all the innocence of a five year old.

"But she can't see the future. _She_ shouldn't be in charge. It should stay like it is now." I shook my head. As much as I'd like that, I knew that it wouldn't work. Nothing ever worked out simply like that.

**Please review! I have a vague idea of what's going to happen next, but I'm not sure. I'd like to hear what my (very few) readers want to happen. Review with ideas/predictions!**


	12. Chapter 12

**Ugh. Chapter 12. It feels like all I've done is write lately. Ugh.**

I frowned at Dawn and stood up. I caught her as she tumbled off my lap. Setting her on the ground, I sighed. Lately, I'd been the immature child. It was really time for me to stop. I followed the route Norah and Anthony had took. I took a deep breath. _I will _not _argue with Anthony again. I'm going to make things _better. I heard their voices from behind a tree.

"She's honestly sorry!"

"Than why didn't she come here to apologize herself?"

"She did," I interrupted. They both looked up at me. I crossed my arms. _Don't chicken out, don't run for the hills. Stay! Good girl, stay. _Great. Now I'm talking to myself.

"Sorry for yelling at you," I mumbled, "That wasn't fair." There was no way in heck I would apologize for defending Dawn, though. Anthony glared at me.

"Hey Norah?" I asked, "Would you leave for a sec? I promise we won't start fighting. Go check on Dawn or something." Norah nodded, and cautiously left.

"Anthony," I started, "It feels like all we've done is fight lately. It kind of sucks." He rolled his eyes. I bit my lip.

"Can we just… stop? I'm sick of fighting." I looked at the ground.

"Depends. Can you stop being overly immature?" I looked up and grinned at Anthony.

"Dunno. Can you stop being a jerk?" He smiled a little and I knew we had a temporary truce. Dawn and Norah emerged.

"Is everything okay?" Norah asked. I nodded.

"Now what?" I shrugged.

"I can try and force myself to have another vision, but…" I trailed off as I looked at two eager faces. (Anthony's never really _eager_.) I sighed and sat down. Squeezing my eyes closed, I tried to focus on the blackness. There was a flash of an image. Before I could hold onto it, though, it was gone.

"Well?" Dawn asked.

"I wouldn't call it a vision," I sighed, "It was just a flash. I saw us talking to the last member – a red haired boy – with us in the city."

"Sounds like a lead to me," Norah chirped. I smiled at her optimism. Suddenly, an unwelcome and familiar feeling of being trapped crawled over me. _Crap. _ Rather than fighting it, I've realized I've just got to wait it out.

"In fact," I heard myself say, "I know _exactly_ where to go." I leaned on Norah, and shoved into the air. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw their _What's her issue? _expressions. Eventually, they all followed me. It's not best to argue with a girl who can see the future.

So we flew. And we flew. And we, you guessed it, flew. It was uncomfortable to not have any control for so long. We flew in silence, except for Dawn, who chattered our ears off. Norah would occasionally put a word in, when she could. Anthony flew over us, his shadow sporadically covering us. I found that reassuring, somehow. I couldn't look up to make sure he was there, so I felt good when I knew where he was.

Eventually, we got to the city. Don't you _dare _ask me what city it was. How would _I _know? So we landed on the outskirts. Unfortunately, I had _no _control whatsoever until we walked into a store.

"Um." I looked around, trying to formulate a play. Everyone stared at me like I was crazy. I glanced at Dawn's mud stained clothes.

"Pick out _one_ outfit. Just one. I don't want to steal more than we have to," I muttered under my breath. Everyone nodded. Anthony wandered off to the guys section. Norah and I escorted Dawn to the girls section where she picked out the pinkest outfit possible.

Norah ended up picking a purple hoody and jeans. I grabbed a warm-looking sweater and the first jeans I saw. After assuring myself they fit, I dashed towards the exit.

"Ready guys?" I ushered them through the door. Just as I was about to dive out…

"Excuse me?" I cursed under my breath.

"Do you need help checking out?" I looked up, all smiles, at a boy probably a little younger than Anthony.

"Yeah," I stretched out the word as I followed him to the check-out desk. He glanced at me every once in a while and grinned. As he rung up the sweater, I dug in the pockets of my new jeans.

Honestly, at the moment, I had no idea what I was doing. So I was honestly surprised when I pulled out a card. At first I thought it was a credit card, but then I realized it was one of those "pay as you go" cards. The guy looked at my confused expression.

"You okay?" I – get this – _blushed_ and nodded. I swiped the card, and then could only stare as it asked for a password. I stuck my hands in my back pockets.

Today was just my lucky day. I pulled out a sheet of paper that read _4927_. I punched in the numbers. Miraculously, it worked. I ran out of the store and into Norah.

"We were just about to come get you." She sounded worried.

"Sorry," I apologized, "I got caught. And I found this." I held up the card.

"Pickpocket," Anthony mumbled. I glared at him.

"I am _not_ a pickpocket," I hissed, "It was in _my _pocket." I crossed my arms grumpily. I glanced at Dawn, who was staring off into the distance.

"What color is the lasts members' hair?" She asked.

"Red," I informed Dawn, "Bright red."

"Freckles all over his face?" She wondered, "Almost as tall as you?" I nodded, then froze.

"How do you know that?" I gasped. Dawn lifted a shaky finger.

"Because he's right there."


	13. Chapter 13

Sure enough, our last member wandered aimlessly through the crowd.

"Oh my God," I whispered. Then I was running. I stopped thinking about my sore feet. I ignored my flocks' shouts of protest. I was going to get the last member. Then everything would be complete. I didn't realize quite how crowded it was, though.

"Excuse me!" I shoved my way through people, "I need to get over there!" Someone shoved me back. I twisted over, trying to catch my balance. In that attempt, I got pushed again, this time to the ground.

I hit the ground facing an alley. Suddenly, there was a flash of feathers, and a pair of feet that had been there was gone.

I stood up, still gaping where the feet had been. Subconsciously, I took a step forward.

"She saw something!" I jumped as a pair of hands grabbed me, dragged me into the alley, and pinned me against the wall. A voice hissed into my ear, low and angry.

"What did you see?!" I struggled against his grip. Usually, I could get away from almost anyone. This a first, and I wasn't pleased.

"Fang? What's going on?" A second voice joined the conversation. Both the voices were male.

"She saw Max." My arm was twisted farther behind me and I yelped in pain.

"I… saw… nothing… abnormal!" I spat out.

"Liar." He kicked me.

"Let g-go of me," I begged into the wall. Tears streaked down my cheeks. Where was my flock? Did they lose me in the crowd too? They _had _to find me. I found _them_, didn't I?

"Fang, just take her to Max. She'll know what to do." I thanked God for the second voice. He was my savior.

"Fine," the angry voice (Fang, I guess) growled. Then I felt pain in my head. _He knocked me out_, I thought drowsily, that _wasn't very nice. _I slipped away as the two voices argued.

***

"What does she look like Angel?" The nice voice asked.

"She's got short blonde hair. She's about as tall as Nudge." I felt a hand touch my hair gently.

"Her hair's the same color as yours."

"Shh! She's waking up!" I stretched and sat up, ignoring the dull throbbing in the back of my head. There was a girl (probably a little older than Dawn) sitting on the end of the bed I was laying in. She was cute, with blonde hair and blue eyes. Next to her was standing a tall boy with hair exactly like Dawns'.

"Hi," I whispered. _Oh man! Poor Norah and Dawn!_

"Who are Norah and Dawn?" The little girl asked, "And why are they in trouble?"

"Because Anthony is going to be angry and they have to be near him," I responded simply.

"Who are they?" She repeated.

"My fl- siblings." I stumbled over the word "flock".

_Max and Fang are coming. Brace yourself. Fang's pretty mad._ Okay. That voice was most _definitely _not mine. I jumped as two more people walked into the room.

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	14. Chapter 14

**Just a quick note. When Angel's talking in Aya's head, the words are italicized and underlined. Just italicized is Aya thinking. ****:) **

I leapt up when I saw the people. They were both my age, or maybe a little older. Actually, closer to Norah's age. But that's not why I jumped up. I jumped up because I recognized them.

The boy was, well… dark. He dressed in all black and had extremely dark eyes. The girl had blonde hair and brown eyes. My breaths started coming in short pants.

"Y-you," I gasped, "You saved me. You got me out of the School." For a second, it looked like the girl believed me. But then she narrowed her eyes.

"Prove it," she hissed. With a sigh, I stretched out my wings. I crossed my arms, feeling awkward. They inspected my large wings.

"Think about the night Max got you out," the little girl instructed me. It seemed odd, but that's coming from a mutant bird girl. At that point I would do anything to get them to trust me. I closed my eyes, and concentrated on my memories.

_Good enough_. That was the strange voice in my head again! That sounds really weird, doesn't it?

"Yeah," said the little girl, "But you get used to weird things." _What??? __I'm Angel. And I can read your mind._ I stepped back a couple steps.

"Um," I stuttered, "Well, i-it was great meeting you, but I need to find my flock now!" I took another step backward, and tripped over a little boy who had been lying on the ground. It happened in slow motion. As I tumbled backwards, I flashed out of reality for a second.

_"I couldn't find them." Other-Me had tears dripping down her face. _

_"They're gone."_

Gone.

"No!" I screamed, yanking myself off the floor. I turned and ran at a window. Thrusting it open, I jumped out. My wings caught the wind. I could practically feel the adrenaline pumping through my veins. _I've gotta find them. I _will _find them. That vision was talking about someone else. It's a vision from far in the future. _

"Norah!" I screamed, "Dawn! Anthony!" This went on for _hours_. Eventually, as the sun was going down, the tears started falling. The cold, fatal truth seized me. My flock was gone. I had found them and lost them in practically the same day. Following my internal guiding system, I slowly steered myself back to whatstheirfaces. Max was it? And Fang? Angel? Who were the others?

I stepped through the window they had mercifully left open.

"I couldn't find them." I could feel the tears on my cheeks.

"They're gone." I vaguely remembered the thrill I used to get when my visions came true. Now I couldn't feel anything except a dull pain. I vaguely remembered the visions of me with my flock. How much older had I been in those visions? How long would I be without my flock? Anthony had _better_ be nice to Norah and Dawn.

"Hello?" The blond boy materialized out of the shadows, "You there?"

"No duh," I sniffed, rubbing away tears with my hand. He stepped forward, his face flashing between numerous emotions. I glanced at his eyes, a habit gained by living with Anthony. I stopped cold

His eyes were pale, unfocused. The blond guy was blind. With a struggle, I kept my tone normal. Well, by normal I mean on the verge of sobbing.

"I-I'm Aya."

"Iggy."

"Nice to meet you," I whispered.

"Yep," he responded nonchalantly. Then I lost it. I collapsed to the ground, sobbing. My body shook with each shaky breath I took. It all hit me. My flock had lost me, no, that's not fair, I lost _them_.

"Aya? You're not _crying,_ are you?" Iggy was incredulous.

"Maybe I am," I hissed, trying to stand up. He sounded like Anthony. Like crying was that unacceptable of an action for a little girl.

"I'd tell you that I don't need your sympathy," I growled, "But you have none to offer, apparently. Just try to sympathize for one second. Imagine everything you worked for, maybe even the first people you sort of _trusted_ ripped away from you. You don't know when or where you'll see them again, and you're stuck with people who couldn't care less if you _died._" My fists were clenched at my side, and I trembled with anger. I hated this, I hated them all.

At that point, I kind of realized how pointless it was to be angry. Anger wasn't going to bring my Flock running. In an attempt to calm down, I took a deep breath, and looked around. I was in some sort of a hotel room. It was standard, two beds, a T.V., junk like that. I jumped as Iggy patted my shoulder.

"Uh," he sighed, "Just- uh- don't cry, okay? It's all gonna, um, be okay, you know? And um…"

"Thanks for the pep talk." I pulled his hand off my shoulder and let out a slow, shaky laugh. At that moment, Max and four other, um, people? walked in.

"Aya, right?" Max asked, as they all sat down on the beds. When I opened my mouth, a little surprised, she laughed

"Angel told me," she said, glancing at the little girl, "She's quite the little eavesdropper. Be careful with your thoughts and conversations around her." Angel grinned, unabashed. _Keep out of my head._

_I'll try. Or maybe I won't… No, probably not. _I scowled at her.

"So," Max continued, "I'm Max. This is Fang, Nudge, and the Gasman. You've met Angel and Iggy already." The Gasman was the little boy I had tripped over earlier. He looked amazingly like Angel. Both had big, blue eyes and blond hair, although his stuck up on the top of his head. _That's because we're siblings.__ Oh._

Nudge was African American. Her hair was curly and looked like it had never been tamed. _It hasn't. Oh, and Aya? Don't start talking to her. She'll never stop. __Thanks for the heads up. __No problem_

"I can't find my flock," I murmured.

"We know," Max admitted, "And, well, I guess you could kind of stay with us until we found them." Fang exploded.

"We don't even know her!" He yelled at Max, "She could be with _Them_! How can you trust her so easily?" Max looked somewhat calm. Huh. If someone yelled at _me_ like that, I would bite their head off.

"Angel trusts her," Max pointed out.

"And we know she isn't shielding her mind, how?" I edged away from Fang. Saying that he was scary was putting it lightly. He whirled around to glare at me. _You know I'm not hiding anything, right Angel? __Yeah. I think so. Usually when people's minds are blocked, I can't get _anything._ I can at least hear your thoughts._

"Fang," I whispered, "I wouldn't do _anything_ to hurt your flock. Trust me, if I had a choice, I wouldn't even be here. I want to find them. I promise I'll leave the _second_ I can. I can't make it on my own… I'm only thirteen and I need help!" I snapped my mouth shut. Something told me it wouldn't help if I started getting cheesy. I could feel the tension in the air as we waited for Fang's response.

**Review!!!! Maybe with ideas for what should happen next? I don't have writers block **_**yet**_**, I would just like some ideas! REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW **

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	15. Chapter 15

**Just (another) note: This is in Dawn's point of view. Short little break from Aya. We'll go back to her next chapter!**

Norah panicked immediately.

"Aya!" Norah called after her, "Wait! Wait for us!" Anthony said nothing, but his eyes changed color. I had noticed Aya checking Anthony's eyes whenever she seemed unsure, so I'm _sure _that meant something. Soon Norah was shoving through the crowd after Aya.

"Norah!" Anthony grabbed her arm and pulled her back.

"Do you want to get lost too?" Anthony demanded, "Come on, we'll find her together." I clung to Norah's arm as we weeded through the crowd. I could feel her edge slightly away. I guess she thought I was going to freeze her. Aya would've never thought that.

We searched until I couldn't walk anymore. My feet were sore, I was sad, Norah was discouraged, and Anthony was… Anthony. Eventually, Anthony took us back to our "camp". It was outside the city. I crawled onto the tree we were sleeping in.

"Anthony?" Norah asked. I think she thought I was asleep. That's why she was whispering, I assume. Anthony grunted at her.

"Where is she? What happened to her? She's not at the School," Norah said in a hushed tone, "Is she?" Anthony turned to look at Norah. As he turned I saw his eyes for a second. They were dark blue.

"Wherever she is," Anthony reassured Norah, "We'll find her. She had visions of us all together."

"But did she actually see _herself_ in those visions? Are we ever going to find her?" Anthony eyes flashed red for a second.

"We will find her." his voice was hard, so Norah couldn't disagree, "We'll find her and I'll kick her butt for running away." I don't think Aya thinks Anthony cares about anyone or anything. Well, she's wrong. Anthony's worried. He's as worried about her as we are. I closed my eyes and tried to fall asleep.

***

"Aya!" I screamed. Norah jumped and toppled off her branch. **Ha ha. Sorry Norah, but I needed **_**someone**_** to do that!**

"Dawn?" Anthony sounded groggy.

"Aya was here," I insisted, "She was looking for us." Anthony jumped over to my branch.

"It was just a dream Dawn," he murmured, "Aya's not here. But we'll find her soon. Don't worry."

"She's trying to find _us_!" I yelled, "It's our fault! We're not looking hard enough!" I guess I distracted Anthony. I didn't allow him to notice the Eraser sneaking up on us.

"Dawn…" He started, and then was cut off by a rustling behind us. He turned around quickly.

"Who's there?" He called out, "Come out now and we won't hurt you." Turns out, _we _weren't the ones hurting anyone.

Five Erasers burst out of the trees. Anthony jumped, and assumed a fighting position in front of me. I blinked, and suddenly it felt like I was flying at a hundred million miles per hour.

Norah sat in front of me. Anthony and the Erasers were nowhere to be seen.

"Listen to me Dawn," she instructed, "I'm going to go help Anthony. I want you to go find Aya. When you find her, come back to our camp, and look in the tree stump. There will be a note there." I looked up at her.

"I can help," I whispered. Norah glared at me.

"But you're only…!" She took a deep breath and started again, calmer.

"You're only five, Dawn. And it's _really, really _important that you find Aya." I nodded solemnly. If that's what I was needed to do, then I would do that. Norah took flight. As I watched her cream colored wings disappear in the distance, I couldn't help but feeling worried. I had the sense that we wouldn't see each other for awhile. But she told me to find Aya, and that's what I'd do. I spread my midnight-black wings, and flew in the opposite direction.


	16. Author's Note Sorry

**Hey Guys. I know I haven't written anything in a while, and there is a reason for that. **

**I'm stuck. I know where I'm going, but I don't know how to get there. If I tried to fix my writers block, it would end up like this…**

_**They were dead. Every person I ever knew. Including me.**_

**Or something like that.**

**Plus, my writing has **_**really, really**_**been sucking it up. So I'm shutting this one down. I might restart it if someone gave me an idea, but that's not gonna happen, and I might not restart it anyways.**

**So if anyone wants to use Aya or Dawn for one of their stories… they're all yours. Ha ha. But not Anthony and Norah. They're not mine.**

**This ****is gonna turn into one of those cheesy "thanks for helping" authors notes.**

**So thanks to ****Electroclasm and StalkerofFang. Not only did you review all the time, you gave me characters! There's nothing cooler than that.**

**Also thanks to Sacrastically Sunny, ****Maximum Baudelaire, Tjaiden, and Calypso. You guys reviewed. Reviews made my day! **

**So again, sorry. Thanks for reading and reviewing. You guys are the best. **


	17. Chapter 17

**Wrote this before I quit… Sometimes I read the story, almost makes me want to restart. Love my characters, but I'm stuck.**

___Where we ended: __I could feel the tension in the air as we waited for Fang's response._

"What's going on?" Yet another voice broke through. I glared at Max and her flock.

"There are more of you?" I snapped, "Oh come on!" Fang glared at me like, _Don't even start. _Then, a Scotty walked through the door followed by a big-ish white dog. I looked around the room. Was this some practical joke? The white dog bristled and growled at me.

"Who is _that_?" The Scotty asked. Wait what!? _That is Total. Our flying, talking dog. __A talking dog? Isn't that a bit bizarre? __That's coming from a girl with bird feet.__ How did you know about my feet? __ I know these things. Mind reading, remember? Don't worry, I won't tell anyone… yet. __Angel? What do you mean by YET?!?_ I squatted down so I was face to face with Total.

"Hi," I waved at him. I'm not sure what the etiquette rules are for talking to a mutant dog are. I continued, "I'm Aya. You must be Total. Angel told me about you." The white dog didn't seem to calm down.

"Finally," Total rejoiced, "Someone who doesn't treat me like a common _dog_! You're right. I'm Total, and this is Akila." I smiled at the white dog.

"Does she talk too?" _Nope_. _Oh. Well, she's pretty anyways. _I scooted closer to Akila and started to pet her head. _Aya, I wouldn't…_ Then Akila snapped. She snarled at me and nipped my hand.

"Ow!" I screeched and ripped my hand away while simultaneously falling on my butt. I slid back away from the growling dog. The entire flock burst into laughter. Well, except for Fang, of course. He was starting to remind me of Anthony.

"Well," He sighed, "I guess she can stay. As long as she leaves as soon as she can." I jumped to my feet.

"Oh thank you, thank you!" I threw my arms around him, and felt him freeze. Then I realized what I did and froze too. I whipped my arms back to my side and backed away to the corner of the room. Today was just not my day. Fang glanced at Max with a look that was almost… apologetic? Then he glared daggers at me. The silence was overpowering.

"What just happened?" Iggy broke in.

"Aya hugged FANG!" Nudge squealed, "And now he's _really, really _mad! And…" The Gasman put his hand over Nudges' mouth.

"Thank you Gazzy," Angel said. _That was stupid. __Impulse. I'm not trying to make my situation worse. __You could fool me. _Geez, are we sure this kid is six? She acts like a thirty-year old. _Actually, I'm seven.__ Oops…_

"She hugged _Fang_?!" Iggy was hiding bursts of laughter.

"Oh, I'm glad you find it _so_ amusing," I hissed at him. He sobered up.

"It _is_ amusing," He hissed in return, "If you'd just look past your embarrassment you'd see that it was funny too." I was about to make some witty remark when my body stiffened up. _Ooh, a vision! I've been waiting for one of these! __Angel, I… _But it was too late. The vision was coming, and Angel was watching. God knows what it was going to be like. I didn't like that a six, excuse me, seven year old was watching with me.

_Other-Me was back at the School. It was the plain white room again._

_"Come on, Aya." The voice was smooth. Almost made me want to listen to it. _ Almost.

_"Just tell us where Maximum is." _

_"NO!" Other-Me screamed. She shook her head angrily. Then she convulsed. I watched in horror as she shook on the ground._

_Then I was filled with the pain that she undoubtedly felt._

_The vision faded out._


	18. Version 2

** I have a surprise! I decided to go back and look at **_**Finding her Flock. **_** And I'm sorely disappointed with my writing skills. So, if any of you haven't given up on me completely, I'm starting a new version! I'm completely rewriting it! =) Yeah… the first chapter should be up today or tomorrow, if all goes according to plan. Thanks for support and all that crap!**


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